‘Jurassic World: Rebirth’ is everything you’d want | Movie review
“Jurassic World: Rebirth” is everything you’d want out of a “Jurassic Park”/”World” movie. It’s gorgeous, incredibly fun, and, most importantly, the dinosaurs are AWESOME. The plot may suspend disbelief a few times, but it’s a movie about dinosaurs, so who cares?
I won’t beat around the bush: I’m young. My relationship with the “Jurassic Park” franchise is very different than most. While I remember watching the “Jurassic” movies growing up, I was never “attached” to the franchise.
BUT just over 10 years ago, I had one of my favorite movie experiences of all-time, and that was 2015’s “Jurassic World.” The movie wasn’t groundbreaking, but it did have an amazing score, fun characters, and a scary dino. I’m not overly obsessive over the movie, but I do think it’s the second-best in the franchise (behind the original) and it helped fuel my excitement for the sequels, which were horrendous. Both follow-ups (2018’s “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom” and 2022’s “Jurassic World: Dominion“) did not live up to my level of hype. They were just flat-out bad.
When Universal very quickly started talking about yet another soft reboot to the franchise under the “Jurassic World” title, I was not interested in the slightest. Then the studio announced it would be directed by Gareth Edwards, the man who modernized Godzilla (he directed the 2014 film of the same name) and “Star Wars” (he directed 2016’s “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story“), that was enough to put my butt in a seat for 2025’s new “Jurassic World: Rebirth.”
Bringing in Gareth Edwards is a home-run hire. Coming off the STUNNING 2023 action film “The Creator,” Edwards is known for his talent of blending CGI and real-world locations, something that is ESSENTIAL to the success of a “Jurassic” film. Primarily shot in Southeast Asia, “Jurassic World: Rebirth” is as grounded as ever. Some of the filming locations took my breath away; one scene in particular hit all of my senses in such a way I started to welt up. Like the 1993 original, due to the movie being filmed on location, the characters constantly have sweat accumulating on their face, furthering the feeling that they are ill-equipped to be in their current situation. The world feels lived in, making the moments with dinosaurs feel seamless as opposed to some wonky CGI out of nowhere to take you out of the film.
While the characters in the film may be silly and one-dimensional, the cast certainly is not. The star-studded cast of Scarlett Johansson, Jonathan Bailey, and Mahershala Ali make some stale moments feel not so out of place. While Johansson and Ali are good as always, Jonathan Bailey steals the show. Following up his role as Fiyero in “Wicked,” the streak this guy is on rivals Glen Powell, and I hope to see his wins continue. He is slowly becoming one of my favorite actors working today.
Characters play an important part in the success of a “Jurassic” film, but what’s even more important is the use of the dinosaurs. This may be a controversial statement, but “Jurassic World: Rebirth” has debatably the best use of dinos in any “Jurassic” film. Not only does the film deliver something we have been asking for since 2015 (if you know, you know), but it also rips unused moments directly out of the original “Jurassic Park” book.
“Jurassic World: Rebirth” is a fan pleaser with a star-studded cast, an amazing score, and some killer dinos. It’s basically a shoo-in to be a hit. It may play it safe in some aspects, but there are no mutant locusts or dinosaurs in a house, so that’s a major improvement from the previous two films.
SCORE: “Jurassic World: Rebirth,” 4/5
“Jurassic World: Rebirth” is rated PG-13 and is in theaters July 2! There is no post-credit scene.
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